Does intelligent life exist beyond Earth? If so, how might we find it?

These will be some of the questions discussed at the second Sheraton Waikīkī Explorers of the Universe lecture when Dr. Jill Tarter, chair of the SETI Institute, speaks at the UH Mānoa Kennedy Theatre on Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.

SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, uses the tools of astronomy to systematically look for evidence of technologies produced by distant, alien civilizations.

The SETI Institute uses the Allen Telescope Array to explore the thousands of exoplanets being found by the Kepler spacecraft and ground-based observatories, and to find out whether some of those potentially habitable worlds might actually be inhabited.

If you've seen the movie “Contact,” you are already familiar with some of Dr. Tarter's life and work—she was the inspiration for the main character (Dr. Eleanor “Ellie” Arroway) played by Jodie Foster.